


Knightly walks

by f1anne1



Category: LEGO Nexo Knights
Genre: (just a bit), Aaron is a good friend, Angst, Canon Compliant, Clay has Anxiety, Clay has Nightmares, Comfort, Fluff, Lance Deals with Self-Loathing, Lance as a catalyst for my own chaotic stupid energy, M/M, Sharing a Room, clay needs sleep, does anyone else on here even watch nexo knights?, just kind of simple fluff, lance worries about clay, please take care of yourself boy, possibly discontinued sorry :(, pre-season 3, sorry for the occasional tense change my autocorrect likes to stab me, the fortrex is cool...
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-07
Updated: 2019-02-28
Packaged: 2019-10-24 02:44:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 6,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17696132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/f1anne1/pseuds/f1anne1
Summary: Clay Moorington walks the Fortrex every night instead of sleeping, but one night he doesn’t, and Lance notices.*possibly discontinued! sorry yall, just lost steam on this one... might come back to it eventually though?





	1. Chapter 1

  It wasn’t uncommon for Clay to walk the Fortrex at night, his echoing footsteps something the other knights had long gotten used to by now as he paced each hall, tense and uptight as ever. If the others got up to visit the kitchen or the bathroom at some point in the night, they’d pass him, say hi, and go on. Clay walking through the night was as common as Jestro attacking some poor village. 

   So when Lance went to get a glass of water one night at two AM and he  _ didn’t _ see or hear Clay, not even he could keep from feeling a bit worried. Abandoning his water quest, just for now, Lance decided to see if he could find out where his teammate had disappeared to. 

  The halls were eerily quiet aside from the hum of electronics, and Lance felt a bit on edge, shifting in his silk pajamas and glancing about every which way, looking for any unexpected movement in the shadows cast by the low light. 

   The sound of footsteps behind him made him freeze- those weren’t the heavy, steady steps of Clay. Weaponless, still wearing his face mask, and entirely alone, Lance felt as though this was it, and he squeezed his eyes shut, refusing to turn around, too afraid to run. 

  “This is how I die.” 

And-

Oh. The familiar feeling pressed against his hand, putting all his anxiety to rest.

  “Hamletta!” With a heavy sigh, Lance knelt to greet his faithful companion, rubbing the pig’s head. “You scared me, sweetheart!” Hamletta snorted, nuzzling his hand. “Hey, have you seen Clay? Mr. Uptight-Knight isn’t walking the halls, it’s got me- I mean, everyone else worried.” 

   Hamletta didn’t respond, being that she was a pig, but Lance appreciated her non-attempt. “Well, that’s alright. You can help me find him.” The knight stood again, turning back to face down the hall in front of him, braver with the company. With his trusty girl by his side, Lance could definitely make it through his quest.

 

  What time was it now? It’d been some… hours, probably? The drowsiness weighed heavy on his eyes, on his steps, and on his patience. Even Hamletta seemed to be getting tired of the search, her hooves dragging as she plodded after him. 

  “Clay, where are you?” Lance called, not for the first time. “Just come out already.”

   His steps’ echoes suddenly halted as Hamletta came to a sudden stop in front of a door- the Fortrex’s small library. She snuffled at the door, before sitting down, and refusing to follow further.  Lance noticed only after having walked a bit further, quickly turning to see what had caught his pig’s attention.

  “What? Something in there?” Lance asked, and Hamletta bumped his hand with her snout. Lance glanced between her and the door, before shrugging and pressing the “open” button on the door’s keypad. 

  Inside the library was Clay, slouched over on the table, face pressed to a book, completely asleep. 

  “Oh. There he is.” Lance whispered, “Thanks, sweetheart, good find.” 

  Lance took quiet, careful steps, cautious not to trip on any books, until he was standing next to the other. Maybe it was the sleep deprivation getting to him, but he could’ve sworn this was the most relaxed he’d ever seen Clay. No one ever caught him sleeping-  _ ever,  _ but now Lance had, and something in him softened. The relaxed look was nice on Clay’s face, the hard worry lines and usually lowered eyebrows gentle without the stress to hold them in place. Lance almost didn’t want to wake him up, didn’t want to break the serene scene in front of him, so he stood there for a moment, appreciating it. Without any of the other knights around, without Clay being awake, Lance allowed himself to stare, to smile at the leader. 

  With only Hamletta as a witness, Lance stood, watching with eyes filled with warmth and fondness. 

  The moment was only broken by the creeping sense of embarrassment that had finally caught up to him. Clearing his throat, Lance gently shook Clay’s shoulder.

  “Hey, wake up. You fell asleep. In the library. Come on, you’re drooling on the books.” Hamletta cast Lance a glance filled with far too much knowing for a pig. He glared back, only looking away when Clay stirred, lifting his head and rubbing his eyes. He yawned, before shaking himself and looking around, meeting Lance’s eyes.

  “Lance? What are you doing here?” He sounded tired, more tired than Lance felt.

  “You passed out.”

  “Oh.” Clay looked down at the book he was reading, squinting in the dark at the pages. “Oh, I guess I did. That’s not good. Thanks for waking me up, I should-“

  “How long has it been since you slept?” Lance didn’t know why he bothered asking, he knew it’d been  _ days. _

  “I’m fine, it doesn’t matter.” Clay stood, stretching his arms above his head. “One of us has to be alert at all times.”

  “That’s not healthy, Clay. You need to sleep.” Lance crossed his arms, frowning.

Clay rolled his eyes. “And why do you care? I’m not even tired.”

  “Clearly you are.” He shook his head. “And I  _ care _ because you’re the leader- you need to take care of yourself. It worries me-  _ us  _ how you refuse to sleep properly.”

  “You were worried?” Clay’s expression turned soft, fondly curious.

  “ _ That’s  _ what you took from that?” The other stomped indignantly, turning towards the door, his pig following behind him. “And so what if I was? It’s reasonable to worry when your safety rests in the hands of someone who doesn’t even bother to take care of themself.” The door opened, and he stepped through, turning back for one moment. “Get some rest, Clay. You deserve it.” And the door closed, leaving Clay alone, and Lance worried he’d said too much.

  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clay’s still walking, and Lance suggests a solution.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i didn’t expect to be writing another chapter and yet here we are, and this is a multichapter cliche. hoo boy.

When Lance awoke the next night to the sound of Clay’s footsteps in the hall, he couldn’t help but feel almost indignant- after the lecture and all the encouragement he’d given the leader yesterday, he still refused to sleep properly!  
Huffing, Lance tossed the sheets off himself and got to his feet, nearly stomping to his door to open it- he would’ve slammed it open had it not been automated.  
“Clay Moorington, what are you doing awake?” The other knight jumped, spinning to face Lance, calming after a moment.  
“Hello, Lance. I was just-“  
“Patrolling? At,” Lance checked the clock, “One AM?”  
Clay had the gall to look almost sheepish, crossing his arms and looking towards the ground. “Well, I couldn’t sleep anyways, might as well be doing something.”  
“Couldn’t sleep?” Lance suppressed the worry in his voice as best he could, though he’d bet it wasn’t so much he couldn’t, but more that he wouldn’t. Clay shifted, fidgeting with his armor- he was wearing his armor? What, did he expect a fight?  
“It’s nothing. Just some bad dreams. Gives me an excuse to keep guard, so it’s really not a big deal.”  
Part of Lance told him to agree, to roll his eyes and go back to sleep and let his leader walk until his legs fell off, while he was comfortable and resting.  
The other part of Lance, the part he kept on silent, suggested something crazy, something absolutely not encourageable, something that would make both of them uncomfortable and possibly ruin any chance of-  
“You could try sleeping in my room, maybe?” The words left his mouth before he could stop them.  
“What?” Clay was staring at him, and he was staring back, face reddening slowly. He hadn’t meant to suggest that.  
“I meant, like, you could bring your mattress into my room?” Why was he still talking? “Sleeping in the same room as someone else sometimes helps- helped my sister when she was little, anyways. So maybe…” He turned his eyes to the ground, hands clasped behind his back, biting his tongue and cursing every deity he could think of.  
Clay stood for a moment, blinking, thinking it over- actually thinking it over.  
“That might work.”  
“What?” Lance looked up, suddenly, his heart giving a heavy thud in his chest. This had been an awful few minutes- He shouldn’t have said anything- and yet Clay was saying-  
“If the offer still stands, I think maybe that could be worth a try.” Clay smiled, lightly. “At the very least, then you can nag me until I sleep instead of waking up to nag me out here.” He was joking with him, right? Just kidding?  
Lance swallowed hard, biting back nerves. Smooth. Suave. He’s got this, all he had to do was pass off his offer as a joke, and then both be on their ways. “And I will. If you don’t sleep, and you mess up in battle, then it’s all of us on the line- even worse, it’s me on the line.”  
Clay stifled a laugh, sounding tired but amused. “Yeah, yeah. Okay. I’ll move my stuff into your room tomorrow, if that’s okay?”  
“That works.”  
“Cool.”  
Both knights stood there a moment, awkwardly, before Clay coughed, turning back and heading off on his walk. “Well, thank you. Both for your concern and for your help.”  
“No problem.”  
As Clay walked off, Lance heaved a sigh. Oh what had he gotten himself into?


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aaron figures something out and Lance dies of embarrassment

  The day after Lance extended the offer to Clay was as to be expected- Jestro causing trouble, the knights sent to stop him. It’d started early that day, before the sun had even risen, when the alarms went off and Ava called everyone to arms. The village was typical, the tactic was typical, and Jestro was typical. Nothing new, nothing too exciting. 

 

  The team reentered the Fortrex, each uncomfortably sweaty in their heavy armor.

  “That was  _ wicked! _ ” Aaron cheered, pumping a fist in the air.

  “Not really, it was honestly pretty easy this time. Think Jestro’s up to something worse for later?” Macy replied, slipping her helmet off and tucking it under her arm. 

  “It’s possible- we’ve got to keep alert.” Clay added, strolling over to the console. “Ava, keep a scan going for any activity.”

  Ava rolled her eyes, spinning in her chair to face the leader. “What else am I good for, Clay.”

  Clay chuckled, shaking his head. “Thanks, Ava.”

 

  Each knight had set out for their rooms, ditching their armor for their casual wear. With the day’s Jestro attack over early, they may as well relax, right?

 

  Clay knocked on Lance’s door, blankets rolled under his arm, his pillow under his other. “Lance? You there?”

  Lance sat up in his chair, hopping to his feet as the door open and Clay entered. “Hey, what’s up?”

  “Just here to bring by my stuff for later- figured since I had time I’d do that now.” He smiled lightly, shrugging. “So, where should I put it?”

  Lance gestured to the ground, keeping casual to hide the thumping of his heart. This had been an awful idea- Clay was definitely going to figure him out if this kept up too long. “Anywhere is fine, just not too close to Hamletta’s bed- she likes her space.” 

  Clay laughed a little, rolling out the blankets and tossing the pillows down in a makeshift bed. “I’ll try not to disturb her beauty sleep.” 

  Bed rolled out, Clay and Lance both sort of just stood there a moment, Clay smiling and Lance biting back comments of how soft the expression made him look. 

  “So, how early should I  _ try _ to go to bed?” Clay asked, shifting weight onto one foot and resting his hand on his hip.

  “Let’s aim for eight.”

  Clay made a noncommittal sound, shrugging. “Fine, fine. Guess then I have time to lay there and stare at the ceiling- not as useful as walking around but it’ll do.”

  “Clay, you’re going to sleep.”

  Clay walked closer, crossing his arms. “I’m going to  _ try _ to. Can’t expect me to be able to change my sleep schedule in one night.”

  “Well you’d better actually try. Don’t just pretend to fall asleep until I’m out so you can go walk.”

The two were standing pretty close now, Lance just tall enough to have to look down to meet Clay’s eyes. 

  “Hey, Lance- Oh, hey Clay. What’s up?” 

_ Aaron _ . Lance yelped, stepping back quickly. The smile slipped from Clay’s face in surprise, the softness turning to sheepishness. Lance rested against his bed, catching his breath and trying to stop the startled beating of his heart, turning to look the intruder. 

  “Aaron, what’s up?”

  “Not much, just wondering if you were up for Kobolds and Castles?” Aaron’s green hoodie bunched around his shoulders as he shrugged, eyebrows raised and eyes moving between his teammates, a knowing smirk on his face. “If I interrupted something, don’t worry, we can play later if you’re busy.”

  Lance glanced between Aaron and Clay for a moment, before laughing nervously. “Sure, why not.” He stood again, coughing, “I’ll see you later, Clay.” 

  “Yeah.” The leader was adamantly refusing to make eye contact, only looking up for a moment to flash a smile at Lance. “See you later.”

 

  Lance and Aaron made their way through the Fortrex halls in silence until they were a bit away from Lance’s room. Soon as the coast was clear, Aaron elbowed Lance hard in the ribs.

  “Hey-“

  “ _ Dude!  _ What was  _ that?” _ Aaron was smiling wide, mischief gleaming in his green eyes. 

  Lance felt his face warm. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Yeah you do, you  _ dork. _ You totally like Clay, right?” 

  Lance made a sound that could only be compared to the squealing of rusted brakes. 

  Aaron’s smile only got wider.  _ “Bro.” _

 “Do not say a  _ single _ word about this to anyone.”

 “Oh, no. I’m telling Macy and Axl.”

_ “No you are  _ not.”

Aaron took off, sprinting towards the living room, laughing, with Lance on his heels.

  “If you tell  _ them, _ they’ll tell  _ him! _ ”

  “Nah, they’re trustworthy! Hey Axl! Macy! You’ll never believe this!”

The two knights barreled into the room, Aaron darting to hide behind Axl, scaling the tall man’s shoulders. 

  “What aren’t we gonna believe, Aaron?” Axl asked, looking at Aaron out of the corner of his eye.

  “Take a guess!”

  “Lance broke his tablet again?” Macy suggested.

  “The kitchen still smells like burnt spinach?”

  “Nope, and nope. Macy, you were close with the Lance guess, but not that specific thing.” Aaron was holding back laughter, Lance, on the other hand felt like his face was on fire.

  “Aaron- do  _ not-“ _

Aaron whispered the answer in Axl’s ear.

  “ _ WHAT? _ ” Axl exclaimed, turning to face Lance so quickly that Aaron was thrown from his shoulders, landing on the ground with a solid ‘oomph.’

  “What? What is it?” Macy asked, suddenly much more interested.

Aaron dashed over to Macy before Lance could stop him, and whispered it to her, too, leaving Lance mortified as she burst into laughter. 

  “You’re serious?” She asked, turning to look at Lance through laughter-bleary eyes. “Oh my god, I totally knew it.” 

  “I didn’t!” Axl said, patting Lance on the shoulder, “Since when?”

  Lance couldn’t even answer, his face buried in his hands. “I wish I were dead.”

  Macy placed her hand on Lance’s other shoulder. “Hey, it’s okay! We’ve got your back, so long as you don’t be totally selfish in your relationship with him.” She laughed a bit, punching his shoulder. “Good luck, Lance.”

Lance still didn’t answer, making a sound again. 

_ Honestly _ , what had he gotten himself into?

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clay tries to sleep, but things don’t seem to work out immediately

  Night fell on the kingdom, and the knights prepared for bed- each going off to their own rooms, except for Clay.

  Clay stood in front of Lance’s door, unsure if he should knock or just wait. He decided on knocking, and with a steady hand, reached up and tapped the door.

  “Lance? It’s me.”

  The door slid open, and just behind it, stood Lance.

  “Clay! Come in.” He said, glancing behind the leader to see if there were any prying eyes. With the rest of the team in on his business, anything like _this_ \- like Clay visiting him in the night to sleep in his room- would get him teased for the rest of his life.

  The leader stepped into the room, only to be surprised that his mild roll of blankets from earlier had grown. There were several more pillows than before, and at least two more blankets.

  “I added some extra cushion to your stuff- can’t expect you to sleep if you’re not comfortable. Speaking of,“ Lance gestured to Clay’s outfit. “Why are you still in your armor?”

  “I sleep in it, in case Jestro-“

  “Oh my god. No. Please tell me you have pajamas.”

  Clay remained silent, shuffling in place.

  “You don’t?” Lance asked in disbelief, crossing his arms.

  “I don’t.” Clay confirmed, embarrassed.

  Lance sighed, placing his hands on his hips. “Okay. Well. You can borrow some of mine- just until we get you some of your own. Don’t get attached, and don’t expect them to fit you perfectly. I’m, what, several inches taller than you?”

  Clay offered a weak smile. “That’s fair.”

  Lance had gone over to his closet, carefully digging through the drawers of one of his three dressers for something that might fit Clay alright. Clay stood awkwardly, watching.

  After a moment more of Lance’s searching, he found something that’d do, and tossed it over to the leader. “Go put that on. I’m not letting you sleep in armor.”

  Clay caught the clothes without any real effort, its high quality soft fabric of no surprise. “Thanks, Lance.”

  Clay slipped into the hall, heading back to his room to change, passing Aaron on his way. The archer bumped his shoulder, winking, leaving the leader a touch confused and a touch embarrassed.

  Lance took a seat on his bed, laying back to stare at the ceiling, when his tablet buzzed.

< ‘bro, did you loan clay your pjs?? lmao’

 _Aaron, again._ Would he ever learn to mind his own business instead of picking on his teammate?

  ‘He didn’t have any! He needs to sleep and /not/ in his armor for once’>

<‘wait hes actually gonna sleep?’

<‘i dont believe you’

  ‘I’m making sure he does.’>

<‘yeah? how’

  Lance refused to answer.

<‘is’

<‘is he sleeping in your room’

<‘bro… good luck keeping your secret’

  ‘Please shut up.’>

  Clay reentered the room at that moment, and Lance quickly locked the tablet and set it face down on his bed, sitting up. The pajamas didn’t _quite_ fit Clay, as he expected, the pants were just a touch too long and the shirt a touch too tight, but they’d do.

  “So… now what?” Clay asked, shifting a bit under Lance’s scanning eyes.

  “Now? Relax. Lay down. Just, chill out and try to sleep.”

  Clay awkwardly flopped down on the pile of carefully laid blankets and pillows, glancing over at Lance as he clicked the lights off and laid back himself. The room was quiet, just the usual electronic buzz serving as white noise. Clay fidgeted, trying to get himself comfortable, trying to get himself tired enough to sleep. So far, no good. The silence was pressing, the worry of an attack still on his mind. He needed to talk at least, fill some of the quiet.

  “Lance?”

  “Hm?”

  “I can’t sleep.”

  “Clay, you’ve been trying for maybe ten minutes.”

  “All the same.”

  Lance seemed to catch something in Clay’s voice that he leader himself didn’t even catch. He sat up, turning a small string of lights on, casting the room in a soft yellow glow.

  “What’s wrong, then?”

  Clay hummed, shrugging. “I don’t think anything’s wrong.”

  “Something’s up, spill it. You won’t sleep if you’re obsessing over something.” Tired annoyance was clear in Lance’s voice, but there was something else to it. Concern, maybe.

  Clay thought it over, eventually sorting his thoughts and finding the one that had him troubled- he didn’t want to talk about it, but maybe he should.

  “Clay?” Lance asked again, the concern more prominent- yes, that’s what it was.

  “I’m worried about tomorrow.” Clay finally said, curling in on himself a little.

  “Tomorrow? What about it?”

   The leader crossed his arms over his knees. “What if we fail tomorrow? What if Jestro attacks, and we fail?”

  “What if-? Clay.” Lance had gotten down from his bed, kneeling down next to where Clay has curled up. “We’ve never _really_ failed, what makes you think tomorrow will be any different?”

“I don’t know.”

  Lance reached a hand out, not quite touching Clay’s shoulder- his hand hovered there for a moment, an inch away, before he let it rest. Clay looking up from the ground, meeting Lance’s soft, worried expression. It may have been the first genuine thing he’d ever seen on his face.

  “Clay, even if we fail, we’ll fix it. We’re knights, and that’s a _lot_ of pressure. You can’t expect yourself to be perfect.” Those words held a lot of meaning, almost as though they’d been something Lance said to himself before. Maybe he had, Clay wasn’t sure. In that moment, Clay realized he’d never really spoken to his teammate on a deeper level than banter- Lance suddenly seemed a deeper well than he let on.

  “But if we fail, what about the people?”

  “What about them? Jestro and Monstrox haven’t killed anyone, yet. They’ve only ever seemed interested in taking over the kingdom, and that’s impossible to do with just one conquered village, right? We’d stop them before they did worse.” Lance had both hands on either of Clay’s shoulders, his thumb rubbing circles against the fabric, soothing.

  Clay hummed, sagging forward to lean his head on the other’s shoulder.

  “Thanks, Lance.”

  There was a moment of pause, before Lance rested his hands on Clay’s back in an almost-hug.

  “No problem, Clay.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Breakfast

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one is extra short oops  
> hopefully will have another longer one tomorrow ✌️

   Clay woke up first, taking in the unfamiliar surroundings with tired confusion until his memory caught up- right, he was in Lance’s room, wasn’t he? The leader rolled over, picking up his phone to check the time. Six AM, basically sleeping in for him. He set his phone back down, sitting up slowly, trying to keep from making too much noise, and cast a glance over at his teammate.

   Lance was in his bed, curled lightly in on himself, his blond hair framing his face, still asleep. Clay knew full well that the other could sleep until the afternoon if permitted, and, well… perhaps he’d let him today as a thank-you for the night before. So long as Jestro didn’t decide to do anything until later. 

   Clay sighed. Jestro. He didn’t even want to think about his old friend turned enemy now, the worry over another attack churning his stomach. 

   No, no time to think about that. Clay looked over at Lance again, turning over his words from the night before. 

   It was going to be okay. It was going to be okay. It was…

   Clay hadn’t even noticed when he’d drifted back off to sleep.

   Lance woke up two hours after Clay had, surprised to find him… asleep. Clay Moorington, sleeping past eight. No one would ever believe him.

 

   Each knight puttered into the kitchen in a slow drip, drawn from their rooms by the smell of food, courtesy of Axl. 

   Lance and Clay had entered to room together, and while no one said a word, the three exchanged looks.

   “So! Sleep well?” Aaron asked, smiling.

   “Yeah, actually. I slept pretty well.” Clay replied, taking a bite of his small stack of pancakes. 

   “Really? You slept?” Macy asked, “Since when do you sleep?”

   “Since last night.” Lance said.

   “Yeah?” Aaron’s smile stretched a little wider, mischievous, elbowing Macy and winking.

   “Yeah.” Lance replied, voice strained, his tone begging Aaron to lose to look.

   “Hey, Clay.” Axl chimed in. “What’s the plan for today?”

    Clay paused- he hadn’t thought of one. He always used his walks to think of one. He was planless- without a proper plan, they’d fail and it’d be his fault and-

   Lance rested a hand on his shoulder, shaking him from his thoughts. 

   “You okay?” He whispered, ignoring the others for a moment- for Clay’s sake.

   “Just- Yeah, I guess.” He shook his head. “No. Actually no, I’m not.” He sighed turning back to the team. “I don’t have a plan.”

   “No plan? No problemo.” Aaron shrugged. “Let’s play it by ear, then.”

   Macy and Axl nodded. 

   “Works for me.” 

   “Me too.”

   Clay took a breath, then let it go. “Okay. Okay that works.”

   “We don’t even know if anything’ll happen today. Jestro’s been kinda taking it easy lately.” Macy said, picking at the remains of her breakfast. “I’m sure there’s a reason, but hey, at least that means we might get a breather like we did a few days ago.”

   Lance bumped Clay. “She’s right.”

   “Yeah.” Clay nodded, “I guess she is.”

   “Rad. With that settled, anyone wanna play some Castles and Kobolds?” 


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aaron assigns himself Lance and Clay’s wingman, much to Lance’s dismay

  With a successful session finished, a boss defeated, and no alerts from Ava of any further danger, each knight set off to do their own thing for a bit. 

  Apparently, Aaron’s “own thing” was getting in Lance’s business.

  Lance had been on his way to his room, when the archer had grabbed him by the elbow and pulled him off into a side room, closing the door behind them.

  “What-?”

  “Lance, bro, catch me up. What’s going on with you Clay  _ now? _ Like, I know you’ve got him sleeping in your room and all?” Aaron had one of his hands on his hips- he jabbed Lance in the chest with the other. “Spill the beans, any progress? You told him yet?”

  Lance sputtered, “I’m sorry, what?”

  Aaron rolled his eyes. “So that’s a ‘no,’ got it. You’ve at least talked a bit, right? Like, actually talked?”

  “I don’t know if that’s any of your business.” 

  “I’m Clay’s friend, I’m your friend- it’s totally my business. Plus, I  _ know _ both of you. You’re both emotional under all that stuff you put up, right? And people  _ talk _ about that stuff when they’re tired- I mean I do at least.” Aaron was perceptive, Lance had to give him that. After a moment’s pause, Lance sighed.

  “We talked about why he couldn’t sleep. That’s about it.”

  Aaron seemed to seem that acceptable, nodding. “Hey, at least that’s something more than surface-level conversation.” The archer suddenly snapped his fingers, “Hey- idea.”

“What?”

  “What if, now hear me out, what if I help you two out?” Lance made a confused sound. “Clay talks to me, I could totally try and get a read on him for you.”

  “This is an awful idea.”

  “An awfully good one!” Aaron bumped his shoulder, “No harm in trying at least, right? Plus, talking to him about it might help, he’s not always great at figuring out his emotions.”

  “This is the worst case scenario, Aaron.”

  It was too late, Aaron was already shoving Lance back into the hall and heading off towards the training room- where, of course, Clay had immediately headed earlier. 

  Lance watched the other, worry that Aaron was about to mess up any chance at all heavy in his mind, yet feeling like maybe,  _ just maybe _ , this could work.

  
-/-/-

 

  Clay swung his sword, cutting through holographic monsters with ease, practicing some tactic for later, mumbling each step to himself to help himself remember it. He blocked a blow with his shield, pushing back, then kicking the attacker off their feet, poised and ready to strike the toppled foe when-

  “Hey Clay!” The holograms dissipated. Clay gave a frustrated groan and turned to see who’d interrupted, completely throwing off his rhythm.

  “Oh,” The frustration disappeared too, and Clay offered Aaron a smile, “Hey Aaron, what’s up?”

  “Not much, not much. Figured I might come train with you, if that’s cool?” 

  “Of course.” Clay pressed a hand to his helmet’s communicator. “Robin, can you get the simulation running again?”

  ‘Sure can!’ 

  The room hummed to life again, the town forming and the first wave of monsters beginning. Aaron hopped on his shield, taking to the air, carefully taking aim at the more distant opponents, leaving Clay to deal with those at close range. 

  “To your left!” 

  “Thanks!”

 The two finished wave one, and Aaron signaled to Robin to pause it for a moment, catching his breath. Clay stretched his sword arm and his back, working out a knot. 

  “Hey, Clay, I’ve got to ask- you slept in today, what’s up with that?” Aaron leaned again his shield.

  “Oh,” Clay shrugged, “I’m trying to get more sleep. Lance got on my case the other night, but he had a point. Hard to protect people if you’re tired.” 

  “But like,  _ how _ are  _ you _ getting more sleep? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you sleep past five AM, not even back at the academy.”

  Clay shrugged again, shifting his weight between his feet. “Lance’s offered to help.”

  “Yeah?” Aaron’s tone hinted at… something, Clay couldn’t quite put his finger on.

  “Yeah. He’s letting me sleep in his room, apparently company can help.”

  “Is it helping so far?”

  “Just tried it for the first time last night, and, honestly? I think so.”

  “That’s good.” Aaron replied, leaning further on his shield- if he wasn’t careful, he was going to fall over. “Sooo… what do you think of Lance?”

  “Huh?” That was an odd question.

  “What do you think of Lance?” Seriously, Aaron should be careful, he was going to fall.

  “He’s my friend and teammate? I don’t know what you’re asking me, Aaron.”

  “Just a friend?” The archer was  _ teasing _ him, wasn’t he? Why? What was he even hinting at here?

  “Aaron.”

  “Fine, fine. ‘Just a friend.’” He stood back up, flipping his shield under his arm. Before Clay could ask more questions, Aaron signaled to Robin to start up the simulation again.

  But the thought process had been started- Aaron knew Clay, and he knew for sure he’d be thinking about that question for a while, and maybe,  _ just  _ maybe, he’d be able to figure out his own feelings for once. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance and Clay talk, and Lance gets emotional

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaand i’m back, sorry for the wait!

   Lance settled into bed as Clay entered the room, hitting the lights as he passed the switch. Both were quiet for a moment, thinking about this and that and each other. It was, quite honestly, a touch awkward. 

  The quiet hovered in the air between them, before Lance rolled over to look down towards where Clay was, finding him staring at the ceiling, deep in thought. 

  “Hey, you okay?”

  Clay startled, praying Lance missed the flush in his face. “Oh, yeah. I’m fine.”

  “You sure?” There was that concern again, something Clay couldn’t seem to brush off. Lance had been kinder to him over the past couple days, his pompous air wavering like a mist that couldn’t quite cover up what was beyond.

  “I’m okay, I promise.” Clay’s voice was softer, too. Both knights lay in their beds, eyes studying one another’s faces, hoping the other wouldn’t notice their staring. The tension in the room was palpable, you could cut it with a sword- unspoken words and questions. 

  “Lance.” Clay finally spoke up.

  “Hm?”

  “Why are you helping me?”

  “Because we’re a team, Clay. It’s our job to help each other and stuff.”

  “Then why do you act so-“ He gestured to the ceiling vaguely, “high-and-mighty all the time? Why do you act like you don’t care about anyone but yourself?”

  Lance chewed his lip, breaking eye contact, suddenly nervous to have his issues brought to light, his perfect facade under scrutiny. 

  “Clay.”

  “Lance.” 

  He sighed, rolling over to face the wall. “Clay, I don’t know if you remember meeting my parents a while back- but if you do, you’ll remember what they were like.”

  Clay hummed. He remembered the gold, the holier-than-thou attitudes, and the odd coldness towards their son- though, he’d thought nothing of it at the time, assuming it was just how their family worked, not quite sure if that was common or not, having nothing to reference. 

  “Clay, my parents care about one thing more than anything else: their gold. Their gold and their status. I’m neither of those things.” Lance’s voice cracked, and he curled against the wall. He wasn’t going to cry over old news- he shouldn’t be crying over a wound from childhood-

  Clay had stood up at some point, moving to sit on the edge of Lance’s bed. The scenario mirroring the last night- goodness, if each night they’d be staying together was going to be like this, neither of them would be sleeping, not with so much emotion. Lance didn’t respond to the dipping in his mattress, seemingly elsewhere, the emotions having gotten started not stopping yet.

  “I’m the family disappointment. They didn’t care about me then, they don’t care about me now. I only had myself and my money to rely on- and now I have you guys, and I’m going to be honest, I don’t know what to do. You four are the closest thing I’ve had to  _ real _ family- and I just- I can’t stop myself from feeling I let you guys down.” He couldn’t hold back the tears, overwhelmed and rambling and trying so hard to get it back together. Clay shifted closer, slowly, reaching his hand out to rest it on the leader’s shoulder. 

  “Lance. You don’t have to be perfect- that’s what you told me last night, right? That applies to you, too.” Lance didn’t respond. “I know how it feels, to worry about being a disappointment. And maybe I don’t know it like you do, but I get it. And hey,” He peered over the other, trying to get a look at his face. “You’ve never disappointed us. You’ve never disappointed  _ me. _ ” 

  Lance’s quiet tears turned to sobs with that, for a moment Clay worried he’d only made it worse, until Lance sat up and pulled him into a hug. 

  It was a silent ‘Thank you,’ and a plea for something to latch onto, to use to ground himself. Clay tightened the hug, unsure of what else to say. 

The moment dragged on, until, at last, Lance went quiet. Clay pulled back a bit, only to find his teammate had fallen asleep. 

  The leader laid Lance back down, trailing a hand through his hair, watching him with worried eyes. 

Lance really was something underneath all his pride, wasn’t he? 

 Emotions spent, Clay found himself drifting off, still resting against Lance’s bed, his hand on the other’s face. 

 

  When Macy came to wake them in the morning, that’s how she found them- and she couldn’t bare to disturb the peace.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clay comes to a realization, or, at least, tries to

  Clay took quiet steps through the halls of the fortrex, the sirens silent, warranting another quiet day of nothing. While usually the lack of news on Jestro would worry him, Clay was a bit distracted with something else- what Aaron had said to him the day before. 

  It was odd, but since the archer had made those comments about the nature of his feelings towards Lance, he’d been thinking about it. A lot. And it was confusing- because he did care about Lance, as a friend and as a teammate, yet he felt… something else, too. He’d never been great at pinpointing stuff like that. 

 

  Clay approached Aaron’s door, the heavy music and cheers letting him know his teammate was definitely home. He knocked, and he waited. After a short moment, the door slid open, and Aaron waved him in, smiling wide. 

  “Hey, Clay!” He shouted over the bass. 

  “Hey, Aaron- got a minute to talk?” The leader shouted back, hands pressed over his ears. Aaron turned the music down, kicking back on his beanbag chair. 

  “Sure man! What’s up?” Oh, Aaron knew. The smugness in his expression gave that away. Clay shuffled uncomfortably, crossing and uncrossing his arms. 

  “Well, uh. It’s- It’s about-“

  “It’s about Lance, right?” Aaron finished his sentence, smile growing wider, green eyes sparkling with mischief. Clay could only nod, uncertain as to why the topic suddenly seemed so nerve-wracking.

  Aaron slid his headphone off his head, patting the other beanbag. “Take a seat, Blue. Spill it- what's got  _ you _ so jittery?” 

  Clay sat, crossed legged and slouching under the other’s knowing gaze. “So. Um. Lance.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Lance is-“ Clay couldn’t seem to find the words. “Interesting.”

  “Interesting?”

  “Shut up. Interesting. He’s just- he’s not as shallow as he acts. He’s kind.” Some warm feeling stirred in his chest, and he tried to keep it from reaching his face. “He’s kind and he’s caring, he just doesn’t know how to show it.”

  Aaron nodded, folding his arms behind his head. “So, what do you feel about him?”

“What?”

  “You sure you still want him to be just a friend?”

  Clay knew the question was coming, but it still seemed to take him off guard, kicking the air out of his lungs. “I- well-“

  “Dude, you like him, right?” 

  Clay hid his face in his hands. “I don’t know- I guess? I’m not good with stuff like this.”

  Aaron bumped his shoulder. “You might not be, but I am. Here’s an idea- I can be your wingman.”

“That’s the worst idea.”

  “It really isn’t.”

  Clay was beginning to regret coming to Aaron with this one.

 

 

  Lance sighed, watching the upload bar load another selfie onto his profile, resting his face in his hand. 

  “Lance!” Lance yelped and nearly threw his tablet and it slid across the counter. 

  “Macy!” He took a deep breath, “Don’t do that.” 

  “Sorry. Anyways,” Macy shrugged, “Axl and I were wondering if you’ve seen Aaron? He was supposed to come practice with us.” 

  “I haven’t, sorry.” Lance reached out and picked up his tablet. “Haven’t seen Clay either.”

  “Huh, okay.” Macy quickly glanced towards the door, then back to Lance, leaning against the counter and dropping her voice to a whisper. “Hey, I’ve  _ got _ to ask- what’s up with you and Clay? Like, I know you like him, but you two have been hanging around each other a lot more recently.” 

  Lance sighed, couldn’t anyone keep out of his business? “Clay’s been sleeping in my room.”

  “Knew it.”

  “He need to sleep, it’s nothing more than that!” 

  “Okay, sure. You two totally haven’t been staying up to swap feelings like it’s a sleepover or anything.” 

  “Not a word.”

  “ _ Knew it. _ ” 

  Clay and Aaron chose that moment to walk into the lounge, and the other two knights quickly stopped whispering to look over at them.

  “Oh hey! Sorry I’m late, Mace!”

  “No problem, Aaron! Lance and I got to catch up a bit, since he’s been so busy talking to-“

Lance elbowed her, shooting her a look. She snickered and rolled her eyes.

_   “ _ Go train.” 

  “Alright, alright.” Macy smiled at him, leaning in to whisper one last thing- a quick “Go get him,” before she headed towards the door, followed by Aaron. 

  “Good luck, Clay!” The archer called from the hall, before the door slid shut, leaving both knights embarrassed and refusing to look at one another.

  “So, what were you and Macy talking about?” Clay asked, staring down at his feet.

  “Nothing, really. You and Aaron?”

  “Not much.”

  The awkwardness dragged on, then-

the alarm sounded, gratefully breaking the tension. Ava’s voice came in over the speakers. 

  “It’s Jestro. He’s going after something in the town of Scripton, not sure what, but Merlock’s trying to figure it out.”

  Lance and Clay needed only swap a look before each went off to prepare for a fight.


End file.
